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LOUISVILLE, Ky.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM), one of the nation’s leading health and well-being companies, announced today that it has appointed Christopher Kay as Senior Vice President and Chief Innovation Officer, effective March 17. Kay will report to President and Chief Executive Officer Bruce Broussard and serve on the company’s Management Team.

In his new role, Kay will lead the company’s innovation strategy. Among other priorities, he will focus on innovations in personalized health designed to simplify the health care experience, leading to better health outcomes. Continue reading →

PHILADELPHIA, PA., Feb. 3, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Independence Blue Cross today announced it has created the Independence Blue Cross (IBC) Center for Health Care Innovation, an important milestone in the company’s groundbreaking efforts to transform the Philadelphia area into a national magnet for health care innovation. At the 5,000-square foot center at 1700 Market Street in Philadelphia, the company’s associates and external partners will innovate, collaborate, and implement path-finding new concepts in health care. The center will also be the home for the company’s widening range of innovation initiatives, including its partnership with Penn Medicine and DreamIt Ventures on the region’s first health care accelerator, DreamIt Health Philadelphia, which last year brought ten promising health care startups from across the country to Philadelphia and today eight are still located in the region. Continue reading →

ROCKFORD, Ill.–(BUSINESS WIRE)- Coventry Health Care of Illinois, Inc. and SwedishAmerican Health System have announced the formation of a new high-performance network in Rockford, IL. A new product, Carelink from Coventry: A SwedishAmerican Partnership, became effective September 1, 2013, with the goal of improving quality of care and lowering overall health care costs.

A high-performance network collaboration is a group of health care providers who assume responsibility for the quality and cost of care for a group of patients.

Coventry is working with health care organizations throughout the state to develop products and services that support value-driven, patient-centered care.

United Healthcare has introduced an online bill payment service that enables United members to pay their bills to healthcare providers by credit card or bank transfer.

United, which has integrated the online bill-pay capability with its claims processing system, is the first payer to supply a service of this kind, said Victoria Bogatyrenko, VP of products innovation for United, in an interview with InformationWeek Healthcare.

The significance of United’s move is that it provides a more efficient way for many providers, especially small physician practices and community hospitals, to receive payments from patients. Also, the approach makes it easier for patients to see what they owe and pay their bills to all of their doctors.

Innovation is increasingly becoming an important discipline for many of the country’s hospitals and health systems. Leaders are dually tasked to build a culture that promotes the sharing of ideas and a willingness to learn, but they must also ensure the creative process is formalized and methodical. Here, four leaders from two of the top academic medical centers in the country share their approach to innovation.

SEATTLE, Aug. 27, 2013 /PRNewswire/ — Regence BlueShield in Washington and MultiCare Health System today announced that they have taken an important step in advancing the Triple Aim goals of improving the health of patients and their care experience, and lowering costs, through a new payment model. Additionally, the two organizations are collaborating on innovative new networks and health insurance products to further enhance care and bend the medical cost curve for people in the south Puget Sound region.

The initiative will include a shared incentive reimbursement arrangement for services at MultiCare hospitals and clinics which will be aligned with increased focus on quality and patient care goals that are mutually agreed to by Regence and MultiCare.

Three friends, and technology entrepreneurs, teamed up to do something that has been inconceivable to date—create a start-up health insurance company to take on conventional health insurers on the NY exchange.

Oscar co-founders, Josh Kushner, Kevin Nazemi and Mario Schlosser, plan to change the health insurance industry through technological interfaces, telemedicine and real transparency. Their goal is to redesign insurance to be geared toward the user experience, to make patients seek out their insurer before their doctor.

SEATTLE, WA — August 27, 2013 — EveryMove, Inc., an innovator in health rewards-based marketing and incentives, today introduced the EveryMove 100 Health Insurance IndexTM, the first ranking of the top 100 health insurance companies in the U.S. based on how they engage with and empower consumers to manage their own health. The EveryMove 100 can be found online https://everymove.org/everymove-100 including detail information about each company.

With a huge impending influx of consumers to the federal and state health insurance exchanges stemming from the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, the need for comparative information about health insurance companies is greater than ever. The EveryMove 100 evaluates plans using more than 50 metrics to arrive at an aggregate score that indicates how well they meet consumer needs for accessibility, motivation, community activism and overall satisfaction.

PITTSBURGH (June 21, 2012) — Highmark Inc. announced today that it will open a Highmark Direct retail health insurance store in Erie, Pa. The store will be the ninth location in Pennsylvania.

“Across other parts of the state, the Highmark Direct stores have helped customers better understand health insurance and make more informed decisions about their health,” said Matt Fidler, Highmark vice president of consumerism and retail marketing. “With the addition of the Erie store, we’ll be able to reach even more Pennsylvanians who need health insurance support.”

Highmark opened its first two Highmark Direct stores in March 2009, added four stores in 2010 and two additional stores in 2011. Since inception, the stores have seen more than 144,000 visitors and provided health insurance to thousands of individuals and their families.

The Highmark Direct Erie store is scheduled to open in August and will be located at 5753 Peach Street in Kingswood Plaza. Eight additional employees will be hired as staff for the new store location.

Highmark Direct offers consumers in Highmark’s service area the opportunity to meet one-on-one with a health insurance specialist to discuss their health insurance options and their benefits as a Highmark member. The stores sell health insurance plans to individuals, seniors and small businesses, as well as ancillary products such as dental insurance, critical illness and accident insurance as well as a personalized genetic health program.

About Highmark Highmark Inc., based in Pittsburgh, is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, an association of independent Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans. Highmark serves 4.9 million members in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Delaware through the company’s health care benefits business and is one of the largest Blue plans in the nation. Highmark has 20,000 employees across the country and provides a broad range of health and wellness related services through subsidiary and affiliate companies. For more information, visit www.highmark.com.